MONROE — At the Monroe City Council meeting Monday, Oct. 21, council members voted unanimously to create an ad hoc committee to investigate issues brought forward by Monroe firefighters against Fire Chief Dan Smits and Deputy Chief Alan Rufer.
Alderman Michael Boyce was absent.
The ad hoc committee will be comprised of three council members and will allow each to be chosen by a different entity. One would be chosen by the firefighters, one by the chiefs and another by the council. The council made their decision on who would represent them immediately, Kelly Hermanson, who was the only ad hoc committee member chosen at press time.
Council President Brooke Bauman instructed the chiefs and the firefighters that they would have until Oct. 25 to choose their respective representatives from among the alders.
Smits felt making that decision would be rushed.
“That is too soon because the council did not create a charter for the specific objectives of the committee, did not define the rules, did not define the chairman,” he said later.
Smits added that he thought the city should have chosen an outside firm for the investigation.
The issues the committee will be investigating originated with a letter sent to the Police and Fire Commission on April 30, and subsequently to Phil Rath, Monroe city administrator at the time. It was signed by 24 individuals, most being current fire department members and officers, and expressed concerns about topics such as fire scene safety and a “hostile work environment.”
Rath and City Attorney Dan Bartholf investigated those concerns and summarized findings in a report titled “2019 Fire Department Internal Review and Recommendations for Improvement.” It was sent to the City Salary and Personnel Committee in late September.
According to the report, the investigation included about 50 hours of interviews and “fact gathering” and participants were compensated for the time involved at their normal hourly rate, ranging from $13.50 to $21.60.
“Although there is room for improvement by all entities, including the Fire Chief and Deputy Chief; the accusations made by members and their request for the resignation or termination of the chiefs was unsubstantiated,” the foreword to the report read.
“In fact, aside from the initial letter there were few issues raised regarding the Deputy Chief and a majority of ‘claims’ regarding the Chief were embellished and overly sensationalized,” it continued.
At the previous regularly scheduled council meeting Oct. 7, Hermanson moved to consider the report, the administration of it, and more at this week’s meeting.
She opened Monday’s discussion by enumerating eight “significant” concerns she had with the report, including that it was “biased” and “retaliatory” and that there was a “double standard” in documentation and information.
Alder Donna Douglas also said the report was biased. Alder Josh Binger also said he was concerned about retaliation and said that it wouldn’t give firefighters confidence about sharing concerns.
Binger added that recommendations needed to be gone through “one by one.”
“Some things like this take time to change,” he said. “This isn’t something that’s going to be resolved tonight.”
Bauman also expressed concern about the performance improvement plan and especially about the safety concerns brought forward, such as the presence of family members at fire scenes.
Alder Richard Thoman expressed concern that some of the issues raised were subjective, such as the perceived lack of communication, noting that people could view that differently.
Toward the end of discussion, Hermanson suggested an ad hoc committee be formed.
Before the council could begin that process, they overrode the existing decision by the Salary and Personnel Committee, which had been to follow the report’s recommendations.